Sunday, May 2, 2010

The eponymous anonymous asks: Does your agency respond to all emailed queries even if it's a negative response?

My agency is listed in The Literary Marketplace as well as numerous published resources for writers all over the world, and is referenced throughout the internet. A simple Google search will turn up dozens of such references. Hence my business is global with author clients from Alaska to Zimbabwe. Given the aforementioned it is incumbent upon me to respond to all queries. We respond to all postal queries wherein a SASE is enclosed. No SASE, no response. We also respond to all email queries. Occasionally a query might get accidentally spammed or deleted, or somehow lost. I sometimes get a response bounced back to me because the sender has a spam blocker and my email is considered spam. Incredible as it may seem, I have had SASE's returned to me as undeliverable, and stamped by the post office, "address unknown, no such number, no such zone." Go figure: a writer who can't address an envelope to himself!

Basically, we respond to all queries. Although we get most of our authors through recommendations, networking and conferences, we do glean excellent new talent through the queries. We're prepared, so keep them coming. You will get a response!